This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In existing Internet applications, along with fast development of Instant Messaging (IM), various applications and services based on the IM are popularized and used more and more widely, e.g. a value-added service such as an online game. When the value-added service such as the online game is used, a client used by a user can directly log on a server of the value-added service by using an IM account and can enjoy the relevant value-added service after passing authentication of the server of the value-added service.
By taking an online game as an example, while installing IM software, the user usually installs IM game software corresponding to the IM software at the same time. After the user logs on the IM software, if the user needs to join a certain IM game, the user may start a client of the IM game through clicking a button corresponding to the IM game so as to join the IM game. In other words, after logging on the IM software, the client of the IM game need not provide logon information of a game server but can log on the game server directly.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional procedure of a game client logging on a game server. The conventional procedure relates to communication and interaction between four entities including an IM client 11, a game client 12, a game authentication server 20 and an IM authentication server 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional procedure of the game client logging on the game server includes the following steps.
Step 101: The game client 12, which is started, requests the IM client 11 for logon information by way of inter-process communication. The logon information may be information such as a user account.
Step 102: After receiving the request from the game client 12, the IM client 11 returns the logon information of a user to the game client 12 by way of the inter-process communication.
Because the user has logged on the IM software before starting the game client 12, i.e. has started the IM client 11 of the user, and the IM client 11 has obtained the logon information of the user. In this step, the IM client 11 returns the logon information of the user to the game client 12 which initiates the request.
Step 103: After obtaining the logon information of the user, the game client 12 reports the logon information to the game authentication server 20 by way of network communication.
Step 104: The game authentication server 20 sends authentication information to the IM authentication server 30 by way of the network communication.
Herein, the authentication information includes, but is not limited to, a user account, a password, a key, gender, age, a certificate number, an address and a true name.
Step 105: After authenticating the user, the IM authentication server 30 returns an authentication result to the game authentication server 20 by way of the network communication. Herein, the authentication result may be authentication-pass or authentication-failure.
Step 106: The game authentication server 20 returns the authentication result to the game client 12.
Step 107: In the case of the authentication-pass, the game client 12 is allowed to log on the game server and to start a corresponding game.
As can be seen from the above procedure, the game client obtains the logon information such as the user account from the IM client by way of the inter-process communication. In other words, a communication mode between the IM client and the game client is pre-configured, and the IM client cannot add or change the communication process at any moment according to the update of the game client. If a new game client is issued, the new game client can not communicate with the IM client because no communication process is created between the new game client and the IM client. The new game client can not log on the game server until a communication process is created between the new game client and the IM client, for example, until the version of the IM client is upgraded.